Denbighammer wrote:Do you not think, with a couple of quality additions we would at least hold our own for a year and give ourselves something to build on for the future?

Up the Junction wrote:A couple? Absolutely not...

How many then? I reckon a couple of genuine quality first teamers and a couple for the squad. More would be nice, this would be the bare minimum. There are some poor / over-achieving squads in the Prem and I still think we'd be within touching distance most weeks.

I can't remember who it was on here but recently someone said recently that we were set up to play as the underdogs in pretty much every game and I have to say that in the main whoever that was, was spot on.

And I do wonder at times if the manager is setting us up for next season already because in more cases than not, we *will* be the underdogs and have to go backs-to-the-wall if we get promoted.

From a personal point of view I think our first 11 isn't anywhere near mobile enough for the top flight and we need some real investment in the summer if we make it.

And TTS, that's a quality post you've just written - really balanced view of things

But there has never been a manager that we have agreed with on everything.

So this Nolan matter.

He was a good pick to complete Sam's Team as anticipated from limited knowledge of our squad.

An initial experience would have seen two fast raiding wide players Barrera and Faubert,who he supplemented with Taylor,O'neill and Bentley. He then had two Carrol types in Cole and Piq. Overall an ideal evironment for a Nolan.

Then his hopes were dashed...B & F didn't cut the mustard, the other wide players were injured, and the marquee signing didn't prove to be the all round mid fielder that most of us (who had probably only seen Match of the Day Nolan) expected.

So the revised set up, no wide players, wasnt going to suit Nolan's style.

That was the time for a plan B, when you needed max efficiency from 5 narrow midfielders,and the frustrating thing for me is that he ,Sam, has not tried a combination that excludes the Captain, more so in the early part of the Season when he was less fit. Not even subbed him to try a different blend. (Yes,He left him out of the Cup Match but there were too many variables in that team to be able to assess any lack of impact)

O.K. we are winning more than losing which seems to make Sam's team selection spot on....but I have fears that our results will worsen during the second half of the season when teams will/should push up from the start against us.

Seems to me you pays yer money and you take yer choice (literally). UTJ is surely right. We can expect, if we go up, percentage effective football that will keep us up. Only once that objective is achieved and we have more money available, will we begin to look for the kind of players that will allow more attractive football to be played. Remember JJ Okocha and Djorkaieff played for Bolton and they tried hard to get Benyoun.

If you don't like that and you like free flowing football - even at the cost of our getting promoted (as some are prepared to do) that's fine. However it may not just be a matter of not getting promoted. It may go as far as the survival of the club - or at the very least its continual decline, possibly into lower leagues. Posters often talk about being prepared to pay the cost of promotion in order to have more attractive football. They forget that we can go down as well as up. League One or Two anyone?

We have to remember just how far we have fallen. 10 years of utter mismanagement opf this club have left us in a parlous state. Just because things seem relatively OK now doesn't mean the underlying situation isn't alarming. If Sullivan and Gold decided to cut their losses and pull out of the club we'd be in administration before you can say Jack Robinson.

So it may be that a pragmatic return into, and consolidation in, the Premiership has as its alternative the outside possibility of administration. That may be the choice that's being made. Or do fans here expect Gold and Sullivan to shell out further millions of their own money if we don't get promoted?

the pink palermo wrote:Bob, I go week in week out and pays me money .I'll express an opinion as I see it .

Good for you & you crack on then, it says more about who you are than it does who i am with what you keep saying EVERY ****ing WEEK as your opinion.

You ignore the bits where I've written "the other week he played well - off the ball" , and latch onto the critical aspects , in a desperate attempt to stick up for him based it would seem not on his performance but on your seemingly utter hatred of Matthew Upson .

You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. I base everything case by case, including Nolan. Good guess, but massively wrong

So, it's ok for you to slag off that particular ( ex) West Ham player , but anyone who dares to suggest Nolan had a shocker this Saturday is a c*** are they ?

Pinks if i wanted to call you a C*nt i'd call you one, but i haven't so don't put words in my mouth. & it's not just about " this Saturday " though Pinks is it ?? You do it most weeks where Nolan is concerned, but it's your perogative of course, you pay the money as you say so your opinion by your logic would be more valued and accurate than others who don't.

As for me "lambasting our players" week in week out ? Utter tripe .When they play well I say so .When they don't they get mild criticism from me .

You do the team Captain virtually every week and have done since day one.

The bit you are missing in the Nolan debate I'm afraid is the likes of myself , Bristol etc are not solitary voices .Plonk yourself in the Boleyn on a Saturday afternoon, and you'll hear far harsher comments .

I did a few weeks back for the Barnsley game & listened throughout the views of all the experts in the BMU. It was so bad that for a few days i decided i didn't want to set foot in the place ever again..The general feeling i got from " Joe Public " was they did not have a ****ing clue about what they watching, & just because they watch it week in week out doesn't mean to say they ever will. I was shocked & embarassed by it and fuming actually too. The Coventry game was much better in the West Upper though ( thank you Madam ), except for the Pr*ck behind me who just consistently kept shouting " Come on West Ham for fcuks sakes " which was strange as that was our best performance of the Season but hey he is more than likely a Season Ticket holder so he must be right.

I will apologies though as i feel the need to Pinks, what you said about you, Bristol & all the others that make much harsher comments, i apologies to all sticking up staunchly for the Captain of West Ham United Football Club when people like you all criticize him endlessly. I'll forget the fact that he came into a shambles of Football Club yet is now leading us to automatic promotion and a league championship.

& i apologies for absolutely despising the Captain of our Club for the past couple of seasons who treated the duty of being the club Captaincy with utter contempt and a complete lack of respect.

By your logic, i am wrong for feeling what i do for both of the above situations.

No wonder you think ( wrongly i may add ) that i think you're a C*nt Pinks aye ??

stubbsy07 wrote:Nolan isn't as good as you make out. Very average indeed.

When it comes to getting into goalscoring positions. He's actually very, very good. Sadly his finishing has been distinctly average this season.

As with most West Ham topics, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

He's above average at what he does, those that make the point that he earns more than an 'above average' player are right. But personally, I think he's been an important component in Allardyce's side that currently sits atop the Championship. Worth the money in my opinion. But then that's the beauty of opinion's after all.

Now come on everyone, let's be a bit nicer to each other. It's 'Arry's day after all.